Chris Saad Leaves Uber following Kalanick’s Departure

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It appears like Chris Saad, the Uber head of developer product, has decided to leave the company after former CEO Travis Kalanick did it too. The main reason for this decision was the absence of the support from Kalanick and the desire to work within a company that encourages the collaboration with outside developers. Nobody knows at the moment what is going to happen to Uber, as many important people have begun leaving the ship. It will be interesting to see the company’s future plans, now that so many things have changed.

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Chris Saad leaves Uber

Saad specified that he is not leaving because Uber is dead or almost gone. Instead, he wants to be in a place where people are not afraid to take some bold decisions. One of those would be to work with outside developers without any fear. According to him, he couldn’t have done this had he stayed at Uber. Saad also had some things to say about Susan Fowler’s accusations regarding discrimination and sexism inside the company. The former head of developer product specified that, in his opinion, the work environment wasn’t as toxic as some made it look. It was indeed a competitive, complex and sometimes even political one, but not as horrible as the media made it seem.

It’s worth noting that Saad took this position at Uber back in April 2015. Before that, he spent four years at the startup Echo as a co-founder. He was the one responsible for the creation of a platform team. This team was behind various features like the possibility to ask for a ride in other apps or the Snapchat content that passengers could watch while they were on a ride. Now, it seems like this team will no longer have a leader.

Seeking other opportunities

Currently, until he will find something permanent, Saad is reportedly doing platform-consulting in collaboration with other firms. He wants to go somewhere where people will see the platform as crucial for the success of the company. Unfortunately, Uber was no longer that company. It seems like his decision comes at a time when Uber is destabilized, especially after Kalanick left. His departure actually affected Saad very much and left a deep mark.